Artist duo Marchand and Meffre characterise their photographic practice as the ‘ongoing and systematic investigation of modern ruins, especially industrial era relics’. It was precisely this type of exploration that led them to work on their Detroit series between 2005 and 2010. The present photograph, shot using a 4x5 camera in 2007, depicts the main façade of the abandoned Michigan Central Station, once dubbed the ‘Ellis Island of Detroit’. Struck by the notion of a neo-classical building rotting with modern decay, the artists saw this building as an expression of historical cycle and the double-edged nature of progress. As soon as they took this captivating image, they knew that it would be the cover of their monograph on the series, which was later published by Steidl in 2010. Their work has been exhibited internationally and is held in many prominent collections, including the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection, the Detroit Institute of Arts and la Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris.